Orca headwear, animal escapes and bear brain surgery – take the Thursday quiz

Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, dressed up for your Christmas delight – although possibly not hers, judging by her expression. Photograph: Martin Belam/The Guardian

One of the staples of the Thursday quiz is an amusing animal story, to the extent that regular commenters sometimes suggest they memorise any ridiculous animal-related shenanigans appearing in the Guardian on the certain basis they will appear. Why not ease yourself into the holiday period with the final Thursday quiz before Christmas, which is all about some of our favourite animal stories from throughout 2024. The quiz master has already put his feet up for the year, but wishes you all the best for a happy Christmas. Let us know how you get on in the comments – and be sure to come back for a special Boxing Day Thursday quiz next week.

The Thursday quiz, No 189

1. 

   What have orcas been wearing on their heads again?

   1. Dead penguins

   2. Dead jellyfish

   3. Dead salmon

   4. Seaweed wigs

2. 

   Dame Judi Dench has said some wildly eclectic things this years, including that her parrot calls her what?

   1. Mummy

   2. Slut

   3. Doofus

   4. Hemingway

3. 

   Which magnificent beast (not pictured), cruelly given to King Louis XV and put on display in Versailles (pictured), is on loan at the Science Museum in London

   1. A rhino

   2. An elephant

   3. A giraffe

   4. An orangutan

4. 

   A deer (not pictured) in McBride, a mountain community in British Columbia, has been spotted wearing what, and nobody knows where it got it from?

   1. A saddle

   2. A rather fetching set of shades

   3. A hi-viz jacket

   4. A Maga hat

5. 

   What was the name of this social media star squirrel euthanised by New York authorities as a rabies risk?

   1. Chilli

   2. Dumpling

   3. Sasquatch

   4. Peanut

6. 

   Here is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, "helping" compile the quiz. She wants to know what is the name of the baby penguin who got famous because he weighed more than both his parents put together?

   1. Basil

   2. Oregano

   3. Pesto

   4. Derek

7. 

   True or false – the wrinkles on an elephant's trunk demonstrate whether it will be left-trunked or right-trunked (the elephant equivalent of being right-handed or correctly-handed)?

   1. True

   2. False

8. 

   This is Otis, a lovely guest dog that the quiz master met down the pub while writing the quiz. Otis wants to know what it was that an Isle of Wight zoo was forced to deploy tracker dogs and drones to recapture?

   1. A tortoise

   2. Racoons

   3. Wallabies

   4. Raxacoricofallapatorians

9. 

   Feathers McGraw (not pictured), the greatest cinema villain of all time, returns to our screens on Christmas Day. Which actor voiced him for his 1993 debut in Wallace & Gromit: the Wrong Trousers

   1. Derek Jacobi

   2. David Jason

   3. Michael Caine

   4. Nobody, it is a trick question

10. 

    What recurring pest have authorities in New York started giving birth control to?

    1. Seagulls

    2. Rats

    3. Squirrels

    4. Donald Trump

11. 

    When Keir Starmer moved into Downing Street his family got a new kitten. What is it called?

    1. Prince

    2. Madonna

    3. Adele

    4. Lizzie

12. 

    A lovely capybara (but not the specific one in the picture) was living her best life for a week having escaped from a zoo in Shropshire. What was her name?

    1. Cinnamon

    2. Bakewell

    3. Cheddar

    4. Mouflon

13. 

    Wisdom the Laysan albatross has laid an egg in Hawaii. How old is she?

    1. 44

    2. 54

    3. 64

    4. 74

14. 

    This brown bear became the first in the UK to have brain surgery, after an MRI scan revealed he had hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain. What is his name?

    1. Hoki

    2. Koki

    3. Loki

    4. Boki

15. 

    And finally here is Willow again, sitting with the quiz master and his official Sparks Christmas jumper but, according to Clement Clarke Moore, when it 'twas the night before Christmas, no creature was stirring, not even …

    1. A very naughty miniature dachshund

    2. A troop of escaped macaques

    3. 30-50 feral hogs

    4. Gary Barlow's massive son

    5. Chris Martin falling through a trap door

    6. Kate Bush

    7. Ronald Mael

    8. Russell Mael

    9. A mouse

Solutions

1:C - Scientists in Washington state have observed at least one orca balancing salmon on its head, a trend known as the “dead salmon hat”, a strange phenomenon first documented in 1987, 2:B - “The parrot was given to me and didn’t speak for a long time,” she said earlier this year. "She has said ‘Boris Johnson’ but she didn’t get that from me. She says: ‘You’re a slut’, ‘you’re a slag’", 3:A - The animal is an enormous bit of surviving evidence of a period of so-called “rhinomania” that swept Europe at the end of the 18th century, with clocks, decorations and occasionally even wigs all styled to feature the shape of the animal, 4:C - To be honest, it is sub-optimal if you are an animal that gets hunted, 5:D - Fred the raccoon was also killed by the same officials. Apparently you can't keep them in flats in New York as pets, even for Instagram purposes. Who knew?, 6:C - Melbourne aquarium’s huge 22.5kg penguin will slim down as he matures. Baby penguins, which cannot swim or fend for themselves, tend to be heavier to keep them warm from the elements, also presumably making them more delicious if you can catch one, 7:A - It is true. Although they only have one of them, elephants have a preference for which side of their trunk they use and scientists believe they can tell from the wrinkles. It isn't entirely clear why you would want to find out this way rather than, say, just put a tasty bun on the floor and watch how the elephant picks it up, 8:B - The four adorable critters managed to get out of their compound at Amazon World Zoo Park on a Friday morning and hopefully went on a crime spree to make the day worthwhile, 9:D - McGraw, like Gromit, is a silent character, 10:B - ContraPest, a type of rodent birth control, will be put in special containers aimed at encouraging the rats to ingest it, presumably until somebody complains and takes the case to the supreme court on the grounds that birth control for rats isn't in the bible or something, 11:A - It is called Prince, but in November Starmer said that apparently Prince and the venerable Chief Mouser of Downing Street, Larry, were yet to meet, 12:A - The Thursday quiz isn't suggesting she isn't the sharpest tool in the box, but after a week on the run she was found just 250 metres from her paddock at Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Telford. They have dinosaurs in Telford?, 13:D - She is 74! Let us just hope we don't end up in a milkshake duck situation and discover there is a problematic age gap with the father, 14:D - A diary entry in November – presumably not written by the bear himself – said he was "back to being his old self; playful, loving and naughty". Did they operate on a miniature dachshund by mistake?, 15:I - From everybody at the Thursday quiz we hope you have as happy and as peaceful a Christmas, holiday and new year period as you can

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you had fun – let us know how you got on in the comments!

If you really do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers – and can show your working and are absolutely 100% positive you aren’t attempting to factcheck a joke – you can complain about it in the comments below. Why not chill yourself out and enjoy a Wombling Merry Christmas instead?

The Wombles - Wombling Merry Christmas